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Atlanta election chief jailed

ATLANTA — The top elections official for Fulton County is in jail after authorities revoked his probation for a 2009 drunken-driving conviction.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that county registration and elections director Samuel Westmoreland has been in jail since last Friday. State Court officials confirmed Wednesday his probation had been revoked, but it’s unclear if Westmoreland is facing new DUI charges or violated his probation in some other way.

The 43-year-old elections official was arrested in December 2009 in Alpharetta after failing a sobriety test. He pleaded no-contest to a DUI charge.

Westmoreland has been criticized for errors in his department’s handling of the July primary elections. One Fulton County commissioner, Bill Edwards, says he should be fired.